Somewhere I Belong
by Piratsuu
Summary: Rikku tries to find a place where she can feel wanted and useful after realizing she spends all of her spare time with Yuna and Paine.
1. Summer in Besaid

Thanks for reading my story. This is my first actual fanfic...so its probabaly not very good at all. But I'm going to be working on improving my writing skills and stuff as I work on future chapters. This first one is just an intro, to get the setting of the story and such worked out. I know I've read a couple that take place in the same location, but I plan on adding in some new places here and there for the action to happen, so don't worry. Anyhew, happy reading and please let me know what you think. Oh yes, and as for all that disclaimer jazz. I don't own Final Fantasy, any of the characters, and yadda yadda yadda. Okay, now enjoy!

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"The stars are so much clearer here, I think." Yuna's soft voice broke through the silence of the small group lounged out on the beach.  
  
"I don't think so. They're pretty much the same everywhere. At least to me. Stars are stars, Yuna." Paine flatly replied, just enjoying resting in the sand with no talking going on at all.  
  
The blonde girl sitting in between the two didn't say anything. She hadn't even heard Yuna's commentary on their surroundings. She was way too busy thinking. She had been lost in thought for quite sometime now, wondering how her life had become so dull. It had been six months since their defeat of Vengagun, and ever since, her life had become incredibly dull.  
  
Tidus and Yuna had gotten married and were living in Besaid , a happy newlywed couple. Yuna was already starting to talk about children, much to her blitzer husband's dismay. Lulu and Wakka were married and had a family, and were living blissful as could be next door to Yuna and Tidus. Even Paine had started a relationship with someone, although the warrior wouldn't reveal who just yet. That left her all alone, and feeling quite out of place among her close group of friends.  
  
Well, it wasn't all that bad. She was only seventeen, and still had plenty of time to find her special someone. It wasn't like she was worried about becoming an old maid or something. It was easy to get guys attention. It just so happened she didn't want their attention. She wasn't really sure of what to do with it, how to handle herself in those kind of situations.  
  
"Rikku? You're awfully quiet tonight. Are you feeling okay?" Yuna questioned, nudging her younger cousin lightly.  
  
Rikku snapped out of her silence and looked up at the sky, trying to cover up the fact that she hadn't been paying attention. "I'm fine, Yunie. I was just thinking about stuff, that's all." Was the blonde's overly cheerful reply, which caused the two sitting on either side of her to raise their eyebrows in concern.  
  
The group sat in silence like this for several minutes, until Pain finally broke the silence. "Thinking...about what exactly? It isn't like you to just sit and think about things."  
  
"Oh...about why I'm still in Besaid when I should be helping my old man back Home." Rikku quickly responded, not wanting to let her friends know what she was really thinking about.  
  
"Oh...well you did get that message from Buddy and Brother on the commsphere. They're heading to Djose to help out with the Faction. Why don't you get back with them and go along? You haven't seen your brother in a long while." The soft-spoken summoner reminded Rikku with a firm nod of the head.  
  
"I know I haven't, but I've been busy with you guys here." The blonde girl sighed, sounding a bit annoyed. She hated being reminded of how she neglected her annoying family.  
  
"Busy?! Doing what exactly? We sit around day in and day out, or play the occasional game of blitzball with the guys. Don't even use the busy excuse." Paine barked out, knocking the Al Bhed next to her upside the head.  
  
"Owwww...meanie!" Rikku whined and suck out her tounge while rubbing the back of her head.  
  
"I know we haven't been very busy, Rikku, but maybe you should consider spending time with Brother. Paine's going off to spend the rest of the summer with her mystery man, and quite honestly.... Tidus and I would like to have some privacy, some alone time. Oh, not that we don't like having you staying with us, of course." Yuna smiled over at Rikku, hoping the girl wouldn't take offense.  
  
She did love her cousin, and was very grateful for all the help she had given over the past couple of years. But she and Tidus hadn't had any alone time at all since they had come home from their honeymoon, and it was starting to take effect on the both of them.  
  
"Oh...well I guess I'll get ahold of Brother and get out of your hair then." Rikku mumbled, rising to her feet and dusting off her backside.  
  
She hadn't meant to be a burden to anyone. It was just the idea of spending time with her closest friends outside of fighting, sphere hunting, or pilgrimages was so nice...and so rare. So rare, she wanted to stay living in Besaid with no worries other than getting a sunburn for as long as possible. She knew once the time here was over, the sphere hunting, fighting, and machina salvaging would begin again.  
  
"It's time for me to get to working on machina again anyways. I might loose my touch if I stay away from the game too long." She tried to cover up the hurt rejection she was feeling with a large smile and a little laugh as she turned to leave.  
  
Yuna and Paine exchanged worried glances. They both knew Rikku's feelings had been hurt, the girl wasn't very good at covering her emotions up at all. The larger Rikku's smile was on the outside, the more she was frowning on the inside.  
  
"Hold on Rikku, Yuna didn't mean it like that. So don't go off and be upset. She wants you here...but she also wants some alone time with her husband as well." Paine tried being comforting, but knew Rikku wouldn't accept it until she had calmed down.  
  
Yuna grimaced and moved to her feet as well. "Please don't be upset with me, Rikku. I don't want you to feel as if you have to leave. I do love having you here. It's just...with all this talk of starting a family like Wakka and Lulu have...we need some alone time to try and do that. Understand?" The woman calmly explained and reached out to place a gentle hand on Rikku's shoulder.  
  
Rikku kept on walking, not even bothering to try and give the two a smile as she made her way back to the tent she had been sharing with Yuna and Tidus. She solemnly traipsed into the tent, where Tidus was relaxed out on a hammock.  
  
"Heya Rikku. What's up?" He lazily drawled, cracking an eye open to look at her.  
  
"Leaving." She curtly replied, and made way to her section of the tent.  
  
She made a big noise while packing up all of her belongings, not that there were that many. Just one suitcase and a small trunk full. Once she had everything crammed into a place, ready to leave, she set up her commsphere. She put on a happy face and practiced her happy voice before trying to contact Brother. Hopefully he wouldn't mind dropping by Besaid and picking her up before heading off to the temple. And hopefully, she'd find a place where she was wanted around for the summer as well.

Luckily, she got right ahold of Brother, the big oaf was lounging around doing nothing, but she could tell they were on the Celsius. "Rao mywo! Fyga ib! Ed'c ouin pypo cecdan fyhdehk du dymg du oui!" [Hey lazy! Wake up! It's your baby sister wanting to talk to you!] She shouted, honestly smiling a little upon seeing her older brother's face again.

"Rikku...Yuna cyet oui fana duu pico du dymg du sa dra udran tyo. Kuut du vehymmo rayn vnus oui...pnyd." [Rikku...Yuna said you were too busy to talk to me the other day. Good to finally hear from you...brat.] Brother's loudmouthed voice boomed over the commsphere, making Rikku smile just a little bit more. It really was nice to see and hear Brother again...who knew?

"Famm, E fyc fuhtanehk ev oui luimt lusa po yht belg sa ib dusunnuf sunhehk yht pnehk sa du Djose fedr oui. E's celg uv paehk rana, kaddehk eh ajanouha'c fyo." [Well, I was wondering if you could come by and pick me up tomorrow morning and bring me to Djose with you. I'm sick of being here, getting in everyone's way.] The now almost perky blonde got right to the point, not wanting her brother to think this was a social call, when all she wanted was him to take her away from Besaid.

A smile creeped up on the Al Bhed male's face as he appeared to be deep in thought. Rikku rolled her eyes, knowing that Brother's mind was a constant jumble of thoughts and that the guy never could think on only one thing at a time, no matter how hard he tried.

"Famm....famm...lusa uh, cmufbuga!" [Well...well...come on, slowpoke!] Rikku finally shouted out, causing Brother to facefault and jump in suprise.

"Veha. Oui lyh lusa. Pid oui ghuf ra'c kuehk du pa drana, yht oui'mm pa fungehk vun res, nekrd? Ra tet ycg sa du kad oui du lusa ymuhk." [Fine. You can come. But you know he's going to be there, and you'll be working for him, right? He did ask me to get you to come along.] He smirked, raising a brow in a teasing manner.

"He?" Rikku wondered, her face muzzling down into a look of confusion. Who in the world would want her along, helping with machina?

Brother let out a long and booming laugh, at his sister's puzzled expression and tone. "Ouin meddma puovneaht...Gippal." He snickered, preparing for one of Rikku's anger fits.

Now it was Rikku who face faulted and almost collapsed to the ground in a combination of suprise and anger. She quickly recovered, however, and a look of pure anger and annoyance sprouted on her face. "FRYD?! Dryd lulgo zang ec hud so puovneaht, cu tuh'd ajah cdynd, un amca E'mm gelg ouin ycc dusunnuf frah E caa oui." [WHAT?! That cocky jerk is not my boyfriend, so don't even start, or else I'll kick your ass tomorrow when I see you.]

In the other room, Tidus peered over in the direction that Rikku's furious voice had come from. "Seesh...what's wrong with her tonight? She's so...so...crabby. I'll have to talk to Yuna later." He sighed, and turned his attention back to trying to nap.

Brother's laughter continued for a good five minutes before he finally calmed down and gave his sister a pitiful look. "Okay, Rikku, okay. Brother'll be in Besaid tomorrow morning. Sunrise." And with that, the commsphere link was ended and Rikku was once again sitting in her room all alone.

With a long sigh, she picked up the commsphere and tossed it inside her backpack, which was laying open on her hammock.

"I can't believe I'm going to be spending the rest of the summer with both Brother and Gippal. Maybe it'll be like old times, when we were little. That's exactly what I need, is to have things the way they used to be when I was little and back Home. That way, I can be out of Yunie and Tidus' hair and I can be around my family...and have fun." She actually grinned, and got to work on finishing packing.


	2. Brother Knows Best

The second chapter, I worked on this all afternoon. It doesn't really get the plot moving yet. The next chapter I'm working on will reveal a little chunk of it though. This one just has interaction between Tidus/Rikku and Brother/Rikku. Look for chapter three in a week or so.

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Night went by very slowly for Rikku. No matter how hard she tried to sleep, she couldn't help but get excited at the thought of seeing Brother again. Despite the way she badmouthed him, she really did love her brother more than anyone. And she knew that he loved her more than anyone else as well. They didn't need to say so...they just knew. It had been so long since she had hugged him last, or yelled at him, or made fun of him; and it was driving her absolutely crazy. She knew that before the summer was over, she'd most likely end up going crazy from being stuck with the guy, but it would be nice to see him for a little while at least.  
  
She tossed and turned in her hammock all night, and even got up to pace around the room several times. Mostly she was excited about seeing Brother and Buddy again, but she was also a tad bit nervous at the prospect of seeing Gippal again as well. It had been six months since she had seen him last, and even when they had seen each other the last time, they weren't exactly acting like old times. Of course he still called her "Cid's lil girl", which pissed her off just about more than anything, but other than that...things were different between them. Maybe he was right and things could never be the same after their little "relationship" back when she was thirteen.  
  
It was just a stupid puppy love type relationship. She had a crush on him, and she was pretty sure he only agreed to be her boyfriend because she was Cid's daughter. And being Cid's daughter automatically made her the best. And Gippal...he always wanted the best, no matter what it's cost was. No matter what his reasoning for being her boyfriend was, their relationship was a very short lived one. It lasted about three months, off and on. They were constantly arguing over anything they could think of, and they even got in a few fist fights. Of course these fights consisted of her trying to beat the shit out of him and Gippal standing there taking it...but still.  
  
Things slowly fizzled down to nothing when she left to be Yuna's guardian, way back when she was fifteen. When she returned to the destroyed Home after Sin had been defeated, he was gone. He had just up and left her. It had hurt then, but she had gotten over it surprisingly quickly. After all, there was always work to be done trying to start rebuilding Home, or Al Bhed children to teach how to work with machina. And then there was her most recent adventure with Yuna and Paine that pretty much made her have her fill of adventuring for a while. Now she was just ecstatic to be going to Djose and spending three blissful months doing nothing but spending time with old friends and doing one of the things she did best: salvaging and working on machina.  
  
It was about six in the morning and Rikku still hadn't fallen asleep. She knew it was six because she could see the sun rising through her little makeshift window she had cut out of the tent, back when she first moved in. A smile started to form when she remembered the day she had moved in with Tidus and Yuna. They had just come home from their honeymoon and just came inside and collapsed on the hammock, they had been so busy traveling and doing newlywed things the past two weeks. She just barged in, made herself at home, and they didn't mind.  
  
"Well, they apparently regret not minding now. When I talk to Lu, I'd better hear that they're spending a LOT of time together in here...alone." She mumbled, and rolled off the hammock.  
  
She didn't plan the roll very well and ended up getting caught up in the netting and landing flat on her face on the ground with a loud thud. After whining and pouting for a few minutes, she slowly made her way to her feet. She took one last look around her tiny room before grabbing ahold of her backpack and trunk and making way to leave. Brother was a bit off his rocker, but the guy was always very punctual. And if Rikku wasn't outside waiting for him, he'd most likely leave without her.  
  
She tried to tiptoe through the tent, so she wouldn't wake Yuna or Tidus. She really wasn't in the mood for goodbyes right now. Especially since she basically felt like Yuna was making her say goodbye. She managed to get outside without making much noise at all, and with a triumphant smile, she started the slow process of dragging her trunk down towards the beach, figuring that's where Buddy would probably land the Celsius.  
  
She was about halfway there when she felt someone lightly place a hand on her shoulder. Figuring it was Yuna, she gritted her teeth and kept on walking.  
  
"Hey! You aren't even going to say goodbye to me? My first friend in Spira? Fine then..." Tidus' whiny voice called out after her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks.  
  
Of all the people she expected to see her off, Tidus wasn't one of them. Well, she knew that he'd come and say goodbye, but she figured it was only because Yuna was going to. Ever since they had met, she had a little thing for Tidus, but knew that little thing could never be anything more than that. She could sense from the beginning that she was little sister material to Tidus, and probably not even that. Just cute, sidekick material to him. Well, now he was Yuna's husband, so he was really off limits now.  
  
She could feel a blush creeping up on her cheeks at thinking about Tidus, and quickly willed it to go away. Now was not the time for her stupid girlish feelings to return to her. Once she felt she had the blush under control, she looked back at Tidus over her shoulder with a smile on her face.  
  
"I didn't figure you wanted to say bye to me. You and Yunie want all that alone time...and...I'm getting out of your hair now so you two can be happy." She said rather sadly, before hastily trying to run off towards the beach.  
  
She felt the trunk grow very heavy and it anchored her to a stop. With an annoyed growl, she spun around to see Tidus sprawled out across the trunk. He had that annoying "I'm better than you because I'm a star player for the Zanarkand Abes" smile on his face, and she wanted to slap him to wipe it off.  
  
"What are you doing? I'm not strong enough to lug your dead weight around, now get off!" She demanded, stomping her foot like a little child would before throwing a fit.  
  
The blonde blitzer let out a loud laugh before rolling off of the trunk. Rikku was priceless, she really was. She always knew how to make him laugh, even if she wasn't meaning to. It was a shame that she didn't show any intrest in him before he had hooked up with Yuna though. He would've loved to see if he could keep up with her in a relationship. But now, the two were stuck at friendship status, which also worked just fine for him. Rikku was cute and beautiful, and sweet and funny. She made a great friend...just one that needed to leave so he and his wife could spend some freaking time together without having to worry about Rikku popping in on them.  
  
"Hey, Rikku. Don't leave upset with us. You need to go out, and see what's best for you. You're still just a kid...don't stay here and waste your life away in Besaid. Go out there...find love, adventure. Have fun before deciding to settle down in a place like this..." He finally stated, reaching out again to place a hand on her shoulder.  
  
She wanted to flinch away from him, because she was upset. Mostly at herself, for staying around so long and annoying all of her friends. She knew that she was a lot to put up with at times, and forgot that her friends probably needed a break from her. Maybe she'd come back in the Fall and see how everyone was...but until then, she just wanted as far away from Besaid as possible.  
  
"You're barely old enough to not be counted as a kid, Tidus. So don't start lecturing me on stuff you don't even know anything about." She snapped, then proceeded to drag off her belongings towards the beach again.  
  
Tidus shook his head and followed after the petite girl. He really didn't want her to leave on bad terms, at least not with him. He really did care about her, even if he didn't have the best ways of showing it.  
  
"Rikku...come on. I don't want you to be mad at me just for wanting to spend some time alone with Yuna... you could've stayed here, just in another tent or something..." Was his brilliant suggestion, which earned him a glare from Rikku.  
  
"Stay here? And know that everyone thinks that I'm annoying and bothering them? No thanks Tidus...I don't stay in places where I'm not wanted for very long. Especially when it's my own family and friends not wanting me." She tried to remain calm, but tears kept threatening to form in her eyes and her body had begun shaking in hurt and anger.  
  
Tidus noticed this, and reached out to her. When she tried to pull away from him, he just grabbed ahold of her wrists tightly and pulled her in close to him. Before she had time to react by punching him or anything, he embraced her in a tight hug. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, taking in the scent of her hair.  
  
"Rikku, I never said I didn't want you. Ever. I love having you around, I always have. You're my Rikku... and I'll always want you around, no matter who else doesn't." He whispered in a soothing tone, hoping he was comforting her and not causing another one of her horrible anger fits.  
  
She tried to hold it in, she really did. But no matter how hard she bit her bottom lip or squinted her eyes shut, she couldn't prevent the sobs or tears from coming out. She hated feeling not wanted and alone. That was the thing she hated more than anything, being alone. She thrived on being around other people, she needed it to function properly. And now that she felt like the people she wanted to be around most felt she was a nuisance to them, it really was hurting. And the sweet hug and words from Tidus was not helping her feel any better about it, even though she did like being in his arms. It felt nice.  
  
Wait a minute...did she just think that? With a surprised gasp, she pulled away from Tidus and looked up at him with scared and tearful eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry, Tidus... I...have to go. Brother'll be here soon." The blonde shook her head and didn't waste another moment in grabbing her things and running off with them as fast as she could.  
  
She managed to quickly get to the beach in a short period of time, and thankfully Tidus didn't follow her again. She had found that hug of his to be just a little bit too comforting, and that bothered her. She couldn't think that way about her own cousin's husband, could she? That would make her a bad person, which she didn't want to be.  
  
She sat down on her trunk for a few minutes, thinking this over, until she heard the familiar sound of an airship landing. With a large smile, she rose from her place and got up to wave hello to the incoming ship. They didn't waste any time in formalities, and just landed long enough for Brother to leap out and carry her things on the airship and help her inside. She gave one last look at Besaid as the hatch closed, and then didn't give the little city or the people who lived there one more thought.  
  
Once they were up in the air again and Rikku had her stuff secured, she plowed into Brother's arms and embraced him in a tight hug.  
  
"E'ja seccat oui." [I've missed you.] She softly told him, on the verge of tears again. Only this time, they were happy tears.  
  
Brother grinned and wrapped his large arms loosely around his tiny sister. He was always so afraid of crushing her if he tried to hug her back the way she hugged him, so he never did.  
  
"Brother miss Rikku too. Oui caas cyt. Fryd'c fnuhk?" [You seem sad. What's wrong?] Was his concerned reply, and he pushed Rikku away from him slightly so he could look down at her.  
  
Yes, she seemed very worried or upset about something. She was about to cry, he could tell. Her usual smile was replaced with a tiny frown, and her shoulders were hunched over. Rikku never stood with her shoulders hunched over unless she was very very tired, or she was extremely upset.  
  
The Al Bhed girl seemed to avoid answering the question for several moments, and opted to put on a semi-genuine grin and straightened up her posture.  
  
"Hudrehk. Ed'c aynmo yht E's hud icat du kaddehk ib drec aynmo. Yht E's cyt du mayja so vneahtc." [Nothing. It's early and I'm not used to getting up this early. And I'm sad to leave my friends.] She lied, and reached up to punch him playfully on the shoulder as she made an effort to bounce around like she usually did.  
  
This seemed enough to appease Brother, and with a smile, nodded his head and led her to his room. He made a motion for her to sit down, and the girl proceeded to plop down on his bed.  
  
"What?" She asked, raising a brow in suspicion. Brother never let her in his room, for anything. No matter how long they had gone without seeing each other. Something was up.  
  
Brother fidgeted for several long moments before clearing his throat. He seemed to be thinking about what to say, because he had his thinking face on. It was very easy for Rikku to recognize this face. His eyes were looking up at the ceiling and he had the tip of his tongue sticking out as he bit his lower lip. Yes, he was definitely in thinking mode.  
  
"Well...Brother and Buddy have other work to do for two months. Machina work. Not in Djose...understand?" He struggled with his English, and spoke in broken sentences. He had no idea why Rikku even bothered speaking English. It was such a hard language, although it did come in useful when dealing with other people.  
  
She didn't see what the big deal was. So they weren't going to Djose...big deal. She'd still get to work with Machina, just not at Djose. She gave Brother an odd look, as if asking what the point was.  
  
"E dumt Gippal oui fuimt cdyo yht ramb res, ajah ev fa teth'd. E yldiymmo bnusecat res oui fuimt cdyo...un amca E femm ryja du keja res dra Lamceic. Oui ryja du ku! Oui lyh'd syga sa muca so creb!" [I told Gippal you would stay and help him, even if we didn't. I actually promised him you would stay...or else I will have to give him the Celsius. You have to go! You can't make me lose my ship!] He shouted out, giving her a warning glance that said not to argue with him.  
  
Of course Rikku never backed down from an argument, no matter what kind of glances she was getting.  
  
"Oui tet FRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYD? E's kuhhy gemm oui!" [You did WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? I'm gonna kill you!] Rikku shrilly screamed, and lunged at her older brother.  
  
She tackled him down to the floor and began to strangle him, claw at his face, and try and rip out what little hair he had left on his head.  
  
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?! PAWN ME OFF ON SOME ARROGANT, POMPOUS, JERK WHO THINKS HE CAN BOSS ME AROUND ALL SUMMER?! "She continued screaming, to which Brother just shot her an irritated glance.  
  
He had expected this kind of reaction from the girl, and was prepared for all of her screaming and verbal assaults. But he also knew that Gippal meant business about him getting her for the summer, or getting the Celsius forever. And it would be a cold day in Hell before he gave up his ship because his baby sister didn't want to work with an ex-boyfriend for a few months.  
  
"Rikku. ..lyms tufh. Ed'c uhmo vun drnaa suhdrc, yht fa'mm pa pylg vun dra mycd suhdr. Zicd fung rynt...yht E syta Kebbym bnuseca du pa kuut du oui un amca E't lusa yht cgeh res socamv. Bmayca...ku. E cruimth'd uv syta y bnuseca fedruid ycgehk oui vencd...pid E druikrd oui't pa rybbo du fung uh Sylrehy yht caa umt vneahtc." [ Rikku...calm down. It's only for three months, and we'll be back for the last month. Just work hard...and I made Gippal promise to be good to you or else I'd come and skin him myself. Please...go. I shouldn't of made a promise without asking you first...but I thought you'd be happy to work on Machina and see old friends.] Brother let out a long gasp for air as he managed to get all of that out on one breath.  
  
He didn't want his sister to be mad at him, and knew she'd eventually have a good time in Djose. And if she didn't...she could suck it up and learn to accept that she can't be constantly having fun just because she thinks she's some special princess.  
  
With a defeated sigh, Rikku moved off of ontop of Brother. She knew that Gippal really would take the Celsius if she didn't agree to work with him and his Faction for the rest of the summer. It was only a few months, she could handle it. She had spent just about six months in Besaid and time had flown by. She just kept repeating "things won't be bad..." in her head as she refrained from lunging at the glunkhead beside her once more.  
  
"Fine...three months. But you two had better show up for the last month. And if you ever promise someone that I'll spend time working for them again without my permission... I'll never speak to you again. Got it?" She growled, and stormed out of the room.  
  
"Cecdanc... tuach'd cra ghuf Brother ghufc pacd?" [Sisters...doesn't she know Brother knows best?] He mumbled, and ran a hand through his minimal hair before walking over to his door and slamming it shut for an angry effect.  
  
Of course he wasn't actually angry with Rikku. She had every right to be furious with him, and knew it would probably take her both months of being at Djose Temple with the Faction to calm down and be able to want to see him again. One thing was for sure, he wasn't ever going to take Rikku for granted and just assume she'd do whatever he told her to again. Something about the look in her eyes told him she was serious about not ever talking to him again.


	3. Just one of the guys?

Thanks everyone for the reviews. I'm keeping things ambiguous on whether or not this is a Rikku and Gippal fic or maybe something else until a few chapters down the road. I did say in the last chapter that I'd reveal a section of the plot in this one, but I changed my mind and reworked the story some. So this one is just Rikku arriving at Djose and her first day there. Sorry for taking longer than I said to get this chapter up. I went out of town for Father's day and we ended up staying at my grandparent's house a week longer than expected. So here without anymore rambling is chapter three. Enjoy!

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Rikku didn't speak to Brother for the rest of the trip. She was so mad, she just stayed in a corner all by her lonesome until Buddy announced aloud that they were just a couple minutes outside Djose. When she heard that announcement, she made her way towards the hatch. She wanted to just get off of the Celsius, even if that meant she'd be alone with a bunch of strange men she didn't know very well, with the exception of Gippal. And it had been so long since she had seen him, it would probably seem like she didn't know him well at all either. She didn't bother gathering her stuff together. She knew that Brother would be more than happy to get it for her, his way of trying to patch things up before he left. She wasn't really all that mad at him, more of the situation he had gotten her into without asking, but knew that if she pretended she was mad at him, he'd do pretty much anything to win over her favor again.  
  
She waited until she felt the familiar thud of landing on the ground before shouting out, "Get my bags, I'm going in!", and running down the hatch before it was even all the way down.  
  
She was greeted by several Al Bhed males; all of them were standing with perfect posture and no emotion at all on their face. Rikku knew they were Al Bhed like her because of their green swirled eyes and blonde hair ; every Al Bhed had those two features. Even her cousin Yunie had one green swirled eye because her mother was an Al Bhed. She shot a confused look and shook her head.  
  
"Yna oui kioc fedr dra vyldeuh?" [Are you guys with the faction?] She asked in a bit snippier of a tone than she had planned.  
  
Their expressions didn't change as they saluted her, which caused a bit of laughter on her part. Why in the world were these men acting like they were soldiers and she was their general or something? It was a bit too weird for her liking.  
  
"Gippal cahd ic du kad oui yht pnehk oui ehdu caa res. Ra naxiacdc dryd oui rinno, fa ryja y mud uv fung du tu dutyo." [Gippal sent us to get you and bring you into see him. He requests that you hurry, we have a lot of work to do today.] The man in the middle said, and turned around to point back at the large temple looming in the distance.  
  
Rikku nodded eagerly, her little blonde braids bobbing all around her. She was more than excited to get into the temple and get to work. She'd be away from Brother, who she was pretending to be furious with, and she'd be away from Besaid where no one apparently wanted her. But most of all, she'd be in a place where she'd be needed. Not necessarily wanted, but at least she'd feel needed. She was one of the best when it came to machina, after all. Back home, she and her classmates would always get in competitions in school, and she would always dismantle and reassemble her machina first.  
  
She took one last look back at the Celsius, where Brother and Buddy were coming down the hatch with her luggage in tow. She stuck her tongue out at them before spinning around and heading off towards the temple, leaving the three men who had greeted her behind. She didn't need to be led to find Gippal. She could find the temple perfectly on her own, and once she got there, it'd be even easier to find Gippal. She'd just have to listen for the loudest, most egotistical and jerky guy around. That guy would be Gippal. He may've been a good friend to her, but he had to have the most cocky personality she had ever seen.  
  
She could hear Brother's voice talking to the three greeters, and she slowed down a bit to hear what they were saying. Just boring stuff about going around Spira and salvaging machine parts. And then some stuff about improving the quality of the Celsius. Booooring. With a loud and drawn out sigh, she picked back up her pace to where she was almost running, and made her way to the temple. She could hear Brother shouting out to wait up, but she didn't bother listening. It wasn't like she needed their supervision to stay safe and get to the temple in once piece. She wasn't five anymore, she could take care of herself.  
  
When she got in front of the temple, she looked up at it in awe. She had been here before, just for a bit, but she was still a little awe-struck every time she saw a temple. So much dedicated work had gone into building them, and they were usually such amazing buildings. She found that her usual bounce had come back into her step and a smile formed on her face, she was actually very excited about staying here and helping out. She could make new friends and do something she liked to do.  
  
"Well hello there Cid's lil girl. Told you I'd see you around." A very cocky sounding voice interrupted her happy thoughts.  
  
Even though the voice sounded strange to her, she automatically knew who it was. It had to be Gippal. First off, no one but him called her that retched nickname. Second, no one else would use such a jerky greeting line after seeing someone again after so many years. She looked up and over in the direction she had heard the voice come from, and a faint smile formed on her face, but she quickly replaced it with a scowl.  
  
"Yeah, but you never said it'd be so many years...meanie. And you couldn't even come and get me yourself, you sent machina soldiers or something." She replied curtly, making sure to keep that scowl on her face.  
  
Gippal laughed at her reaction, and smiled at a combination of things. Number one, she truly had grown up, just like Brother and Old Man Cid had said she had. She wasn't the scrawny little brat anymore, she was a beautiful woman. A beautiful woman who would be staying with him for three months. Number two, she hadn't yelled at him or tried to slap him when he used his favorite nickname on her. That was a sign she had grown up some, or hopefully had grown up some. Third, he could see Brother and Buddy off in the close distance struggling with what was probably Rikku's belongings. The two idiots had managed to spill out her things and were rushing to put them all back in the trunk before Rikku turned around and noticed.  
  
His eye quickly moved back to Rikku as he took in her rather revealing outfit. He motioned for her to come up to him, and the petite girl pranced up to him. He may be a jerk, but she hadn't seen him since their last time together, back when she was fourteen. And she was excited to see an old friend again.  
  
"We've both been busy, Rikku. Neither of us have had time to search each other out...besides, if we had, what would we have said or done? Sorry for just ending things the way we did?" He smirked, sounding a bit bitter.  
  
His and Rikku's relationship had ended on a rather sour note. His father needed him to go off and help with machina, and Rikku wanted to go off in search of her cousin Yuna, and stop her from making her pilgrimage. He hadn't wanted her to go alone, afraid it was too dangerous. He wanted her to wait until he got back from the Thunder Plains, but Rikku wouldn't wait. He remembered being so furious at her for being so stupid, he had shook her so hard it scared her, and made her cry. Even after he had scared her like that, she tried to kiss him goodbye, but he just ran off, leaving her alone. He had been too embarrassed to even try and find her after that. What kind of a man just runs off, especially when a girl wants to kiss you?  
  
"It wasn't my fault the way things happened, and you know that Gippal. It's been almost four years...lets get over it and move on, okay?" She brightly smiled, trying not to let him ruin her happy mood.  
  
He nodded his head in agreement, glad that she seemed okay with everything. That would make things a lot more easier when they would be working together and stuff. Hopefully no awkward silences or anything like that. He led her into the temple and began pointing out important places and people to her. She simply followed along beside him, nodding her head and occasionally saying yeah to let him know she understood.  
  
Once he had led her through the working area of the temple, he took her down to the living area.  
  
"This is where we all eat and sleep, relax. Its our home, and it'll be yours too while you live here. The only problem is that you're the only girl here...so we had to make a few extra arrangements for you. Everyone here bunks in one of the large rooms...except for me and you..." he trailed off, wanting to see her reaction.  
  
She looked up at him with wide eyes and blinked several times. "Me..me and you? As in me and you sharing a room? T...together? Sleeping and stuff?" She babbled, turning bright red.  
  
She tried to push embarrassing images of her and Gippal curled up in bed together, cuddling and sleeping like they did when they were little kids. That was okay to do when you were seven, but now that she was seventeen, that just wouldn't be right. People would think that they were doing things at night, naughty things that made her blush to think about. Sure Gippal was really good looking, even more so than he was the last time she saw him. But...there was no way she could ever do things like that with him. She wouldn't know what to do, especially since Buddy had told her all about Gippal's reputation with the women.  
  
Gippal's booming laughter eventually let her know that he was either teasing, or glad to see that she was so embarrassed. Sadly, she wasn't exactly sure which one he was. Gippal was mean enough to tease her about having to sleep with him, and even meaner to be glad she was getting so embarrassed over something so seemingly innocent.  
  
"Relax, Rikku. You have your own room. It's next door to mine though. If you go down to the end of this hall, there's a flight of stairs that will take you up to a small hallway with three doors. My room is the first door in, the bathroom is the second door in, and your room is the third door. We aren't going to be sleeping together, but we are sharing a bathroom, so you'd better not stink it up with all of your girly stuff. And if I start finding bras and panties lying around, they're being put up for everyone to see. Got it?"  
  
Her mouth just dropped open in shock at how easily he talked about her bras and panties being shown to everyone. She bet he was hoping she'd do that, just so he'd get the opportunity to show them off to all the other guys. She fought against turning bright red and glared up at him.  
  
"You just want to get your hands on my bras and panties and since I'm never going to show them to you willingly, that's the only way you'll be able to see them." She growled, and pushed him out of the way. "I'm going to my room. Have someone bring up my stuff. And not Brother. I'm mad at that jerk. And you too, so don't bring up my stuff either."  
  
He shrugged and turned to leave, but not before shouting out after her, "Oh and Rikku, if you're going to blush every time someone mentions bras or panties I wouldn't go around the guys if I were you. We tend to like to talk about seeing girls in bras in panties. And since you're just one of the guys now, you'd probably just be best to get comforatable with that." And with a smirk, he sauntered off, glad that he had won that little spat.  
  
Ooooh he made her so made sometimes. It was almost like they hadn't gone almost four years without seeing each other, like they had just gone back to the way things were.  
  
"I'm not just one of the guys, meanie! I may be the only girl here, but I am so not one of the guys!" She fumed loud enough for his retreating form to hear.  
  
"Whatever, princess. To everyone here, you're just one of the guys. Don't forget that. You're not some little girly priss we need to watch after. You're here to work, just like us. And you'll be treated just like us too."  
  
He could hear her make some sort of angry and annoyed sound as she stormed off, and he could even hear the sound of her door slamming. Ah. It was just like old times. It felt so good to have her back near him, even if she seemed to be pretty pissed at him. Oh well, she'd get over it. Rikku always did. That was one of the things he liked best about her. No matter what he did to her, she'd always be the first to apologize and get over it, and be the first to smile again. He did have to admire that about her, as well as her newfound womanly figure. If she kept running around in those damned skimpy clothes, he and all the other guys would become pretty distracted. He hoped to make the point clear to her and especially all the guys that she was just one of the guys and was hands off material.  
  
Rikku refused to come down for dinner. She wasn't that hungry, and didn't feel like seeing a whole bunch of people she didn't know. Especially when she was furious with the one person she did know here. She felt so lonely and almost wanted to cry. She had been hoping that staying here would make her happy, but she was even more miserable than she had been on her last night in Besaid.  
  
She wasn't sure how long she had been lying curled up on her bed when she heard a knock on the door. She didn't say anything, hoping the person would just go away. She had already told at least ten different men that she wasn't hungry and didn't want to eat with everyone and to just leave her alone. She heard the sound of her door opening and she sat up to look at the person who had just broken into her room. She knew she had locked the door after she had come in, so the person who had entered must have broken the lock.  
  
It wasn't of any surprise to see Gippal standing before her, smirking. But he was holding a plate of food, which made her smile.  
  
"I know that you have to be hungry, despite what you're saying. Brother told me you didn't eat all day today...so here you go." His smirk softened into a smile as he handed her the plate, which she gratefully accepted and began digging into.  
  
He laughed softly and moved to sit down next to her. He hoped she wouldn't snap at him, but she appeared to be too busy eating to care he was close to her.  
  
"Look, I didn't mean to make you feel unwanted here, if I did. You're one of the best salvagers I know. You have been since we were kids. And...even though you are going to be working here, you aren't a member of the faction and you can work on things at your own pace...take a day or two off if you want. You're not a prisoner here or anything. I want you to be happy here." He explained, raking his fingers through his hair.  
  
She quickly cleared her plate and set it down on his lap. She was really grateful for him bringing her food, she had been really hungry. She took all of his words into consideration before deciding how to handle them. She could tell that he was apprehensive about her feeling unwanted, which made her smile.  
  
"Gippal, I know I'll be useful here. I'll help out. I just don't want to be treated like one of the guys. Because I'm not you know." She pouted, which made him chuckle.  
  
So she could still pout and be adorable...great. Now he could never get mad at her, because he knew she would just do that damned pout and make his heart melt. He never did manage to find a way to block the power of her pout, which kind of pissed him off. She had him wrapped around her little finger and she didn't even know it.  
  
"I know, I know. And I'll take that into consideration...but for now...just unpack some and then get to sleep. We have an early day tomorrow you know. Up at sunrise. So get enough rest, okay?" He gently ordered her, clutching the plate as he stood up to leave.  
  
She nodded and waved goodbye to him as he left, and then fell back onto her bed. So maybe things wouldn't be that bad staying in Djose. Gippal was here, and Brother and Buddy would be in a couple of months. And she was positive she'd make new friends among some of the other workers...just as long as they didn't treat her like one of the guys. She was a little bit of a tomboy, yes...but not just one of the guys.


End file.
